Matawan-Freehold RR added to Transit study
By marilyn duff
Staff Writer

The old Freehold to Mata-wan/Aberdeen railroad route has been added to a study of a potential alternatives to the Middlesex-Ocean-Monmouth rail line now under consideration.

Based on current data, NJ Transit doesn’t think the Matawan route is viable, NJ Transit spokesman Ken Miller said Friday. The agency decided to add it, however, to reassure people in Middlesex County who wanted it included in the current Draft Environmental Impact Statement study.

"We at NJ Transit still have grave doubts about the viability of the route. That’s why we eliminated it in the 1996 study effort the last time around," Miller said.

Nevertheless, he added, "we’re trying to ensure that the public has complete confidence in the project."

The study, which will cost $4.5 million and take 18 to 24 months, will now include three potential rail routes, Lakehurst to Monmouth Junction in South Brunswick, Lakehurst to Red Bank, and Lakehurst to Matawan, as well as a no-build alternative.

Pubic meetings will be held beginning early next year.

There is no time line for getting the line up and running. "It’s all subject to funding," Miller said. A Central Jersey rail link is included in the state’s Circle of Mobility plan, which qualifies it for federal funding.

The Monmouth County Park System, which recently awarded a $584,028 contract to clear the Freehold-Matawan right of way of vegetation, rails and ties to extend the Henry Hudson Trail, has no plans to halt its project.

The nine-mile Henry Hudson trail follows another abandoned rail right of way which runs north of Route 36 from the Middletown-Atlantic Highlands border to Aberdeen.

"We’re going to continue with our plans. If a rail line goes in, they still have to clear the route," park system spokeswoman Laura Kirpatrick said Monday.

The park system signed a 20-year lease last year with NJ Transit to turn the route into a trail. NJ Transit owns the right of way, according to Miller, and the lease agreement "includes a clause reserving the right to use the property in the future to reactivate passenger railroad service."

"We are definitely opposed to that," Matawan Mayor Robert Clifton said Monday upon learning about the inclusion of the Freehold-Matawan route in the new MOM study.

"This has come up several times and was never considered to be a route that made sense," added the mayor.

"This would adversely impact Matawan and doesn’t seem to the best choice for the commuters either," Clifton said, adding that he felt the Lakehurst to South Brunswick route was more direct.

The mayor said that a Freehold to Matawan route would add to the traffic at the Aberdeen-Matawan station, already the busiest on the North Jersey Coast Line.

Clifton added that the borough was planning to reach out to its own elected officials to protest the inclusion of the Freehold to Matawan option.

Aberdeen officials could not be reached for comment.

State Senator Peter A. Inverso (R-14) announced the study change in an Oct. 18 press release. His district includes portions of Mercer and Middlesex counties.

When NJ Transit awarded the $4.5 million study contract to SYSTRA Consulting, Bloomfield, in June, it only included the Red Bank and Monmouth Junction routes.

The Monmouth Junction route is bitterly opposed by Middlesex county officials and officials of South Brunswick, Monroe and Jamesburg, through which it would run, because of the impact on residential areas.

"I am pleased that NJ Transit has relaxed its position," Inverso said, adding that "including the Freehold/Matawan route in the DEIS is a step in the right direction. Inverso asked the agency last spring to expand the scope of the study and has continued to work with it on the issue, he said.

Inverso still has a bill pending that would required NJ Transit to enter into a contract with an institution of higher learning for a study of the proposed rail line. It requires a full analysis of existing studies and reports completed since 1990 on public transportation needs in the three-county region, including alignment alternatives for new or expanded bus and rail service.

The MOM project was dismissed by NJ Transit in 1996 in favor of enhanced bus service on the Route 9 corridor, but was brought back into play following NJ Transit Executive Director Jeffrey Warsh’s appointment in 1999.

Monmouth County Freehold Ted Narozanick has been a strong advocate of the Monmouth Junction route.

Miller said the new environmental study actually got underway in August and September and that the agency is in process of defining what it will consist of. Another important piece is setting up public meetings, he said.

Unlike the Matawan route, NJ Transit considers the Monmouth Junction and Red Bank routes to be viable options, he said. Both are currently operational and used for freight trains.

The new study "is a more detailed document that what has been accomplished previously," Miller said. The last time around, they looked at "very general pieces of information about how the railroad would be setup and operated," he said, for example, new equipment, potential station locations and needed infrastructure improvement.

"There has been continuing and growing interest in reactivation of rail service in entire region," Miller noted.

As for the Henry Hudson Trail extension, Kirkpatrick said clearing should be completed by the end of the year, with favorable weather conditions.

Development Concepts, Edison, which was awarded the contract July 23, began clearing at the Freehold end on Oct. 9.

The entire project is expected to take four to five years. "Our plan is to clear the trail. We also have to replace numerous bridges," Kirkpatrick said, 12 in all, plus they have 25 street crossings to contend with.

For the short term the trail will have a natural surface. Eventually it will be paved.

— Alison Granito contributed to this article